Considering the dynamic changes in consumer behavioral intentions, marketers need to treat this issue meticulously to achieve optimum results. These behavioral changes incorporate emotions, theories, and behaviors of those demonstrating green purchase intention
[13][14][15]. The influence of environmental attitudes on psychological states, beliefs, and behaviors contributes to the decision-making process—even more so in the case of green marketing, which promotes societal advancements with the primary purpose of enhancing people’s lives and protecting the environment, as it responds to the modern public’s significant environmental concerns, which are steadily expanding
[15][16][17]. As a result, the research delves into the factors that impact people’s green purchasing decisions and the awareness that leads to civic engagement, with an emphasis on environmentally friendly products. Researchers investigate to what extent environmental concern is associated with and influences eco-friendly attitudes, as well as other variables that could affect how consumers perceive advertising messages via emotional appeal. It is critical to understand the reasons that inspire individuals to participate, both physically and through external social dynamics (such as attitudes toward advertising and ecolabels). These factors are required to better understand how organizations can continue their green practices while achieving greater income and satisfy customers’ needs in terms of eco-friendly products or services while also encouraging sustainable behavior.
2. Green Purchase Intention
Green products are any products that are produced incorporating green technology and are not associated with any hazards to the environment
[2][3][18]. The promotion of green technologies and green goods is critical for natural resource conservation and sustainable development. To date, terminologies such as green consumerism, green consumption, green demand, green purchasing, environmentally friendly consumer behavior, ecological consumption, and pro-environmental consumption have been adopted
[3][6][13][19][20].
A person’s consuming behavior can be influenced by the economic, political, and technological environments, as well as by the company’s marketing mix in terms of pricing, product, distribution, and promotion. These impacts are the initial triggers that cause a person to act as a consumer
[16][21][22]. Relevant research has pointed out that the values that distinguish each consumer, such as ambition, social recognition, and pleasure, do not impact the customer’s willingness to be ecologically responsible
[17][22][23]. Ecological conscientiousness, on the other hand, has a substantial impact on a consumer’s possibility of developing ecological behavior and developing emotions of individual responsibility. In another attempt
[24], the authors concentrated their efforts on the investigation of the variables that impact the final purchasing decision and consumer attitudes toward the decision to buy environmentally friendly products. Environmental knowledge or concepts were discovered to have a positive relationship with customers’ future intention of buying items that are green. Furthermore, environmental concern has a statistically significant effect on consumers’ intention to purchase ecological products. In fact, the stronger the consumers’ consideration of the environment, the more likely they are to purchase ecological products. To begin with, customers’ belief in the effectiveness of their environmental conduct is positively related to their intention to purchase sustainable merchandise
[25]. Consumers’ altruistic and prosocial inclinations represent a few of the additional factors that impact their likelihood of purchasing sustainable products
[5][25][26]. Once customers become aware that their choices and behaviors could contribute to social changes and ensure sustainability, their motivation increases.
3. Environmental Concern
Green consumer behavior could be defined as consumer behavior that is concerned with environmental issues or societal considerations, which is reflected in purchase decisions
[17][24][27]. Numerous organizations acquire influential status as they update product information and recommend particular measures to satisfy consumers’ needs in relation to their environmental concerns. In terms of the environmental characteristics of the green consumer, researchers recognize that the public’s perception of the environmentally-conscious consumer, the consumer’s tendencies to purchase environmentally friendly products, their environmental activism, and environmental knowledge all play a significant role in defining a consumer as an environmentalist
[28]. There have been a few studies that incorporated environmental knowledge as a variable and studied its influence on either environmental attitudes or pro-environmental behavior
[5][20][29]. Moisander
[22] demonstrates that green consumerism necessitates an in-depth examination of consumer behavior and expertise, as ecologically responsible consumer behavior differentiates. Ismail et al.
[30] discovered that the more consumers are familiar with environmental and social issues, the more pro-social and environmentally conscious choices they make. According to SGuin, Pelletier, and Hunsley
[16], environmental concern can have a considerable impact on the extent to which individuals are motivated to adapt their everyday practices to ameliorate the environmental problems at hand. Environmental concern has been demonstrated to be a key factor in the purchasing of organic and green foods in various research studies
[2][20][24][31]. Mostafa
[32] highlights the impact of environmental concerns on purchase decisions. This positive correlation not only contributes to the intention to consume green products but also enhances consumer motivation to search for the necessary information about the green properties of these products, thus becoming environmentally and socially responsible
[33]. The environmentally conscious consumer is more likely to purchase eco-friendly items than the indifferent consumer. Furthermore, when consumers are adequately informed about the environmental impacts of their choice of environmentally friendly products, this substantially contributes toward them being environmentally responsible. In a similar study, Abdul-Muhmin
[19] contradicts prior research claiming that environmental concern and environmentally friendly behavior did not demonstrate a statistically significant association. However, the study revealed that the constructive experiences that consumers have when they contribute to environmental safeguarding are positively associated with the strengthening of their motivation to engage in pro-environmental behavior.
Environmental concern appears as a critical aspect in understanding green consumer behavior, comprising both the behavioral and psychological forces that lead consumers to make eco-friendly purchasing decisions and even to actively campaign for the preservation of our environment. Personality, self-esteem, and lifestyle represent examples of psychological influences. The perception that all individuals possess about themselves in terms of their physical appearance, intellectual capacity, personality, and every other aspect that defines their identity as a social being is referred to as self-impression
[34][35][36][37]. More specifically, in
[38], environmental awareness and consciousness were demonstrated to positively influence consumer attitudes toward green products. Furthermore, the collective behavior of individuals had a direct impact on consumer attitudes toward ecologically friendly products. Consumer environmental concern has a favorable relationship to both individual viewpoints and the willingness to actively participate in issues related to the environment
[39]. Environmental concern broadens people’s mental mechanisms, enabling them to seek alternative routines in their daily lives that could improve the preservation of the environment both on an individual and social level
[27][29][30][34][35]. Personal perspectives on this issue strengthen people’s responsibilities, willingness, and conscientiousness for social change, whereas economic variables play a big role in the development of a consumer as an environmentalist
[2][27][36]. Undoubtedly, consumer environmental concern has a beneficial connection to consumer desire to become part of a group that advocates for the environment.
Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the association between different psychosocial characteristics and green consumption
[40][41][42][43][44]. It has been shown that personal and social aspects impact consumer behavior, and thus, understanding green purchasing behavior requires a social approach
[17][45][46]. Connection with nature refers to how individuals experience being connected to and integrated into the natural environment. This implies that individuals see themselves as a part of nature and recognize the value of nature to their well-being
[1][47][48]. According to
[47][49], being acquainted with nature enhances people’s well-being. People satisfy their desire for social connection and improve their psychological condition when they experience a connection to nature. This connection with nature can lead to pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors, as individuals see their interconnectedness and reliance on the environment and strive to safeguard it
[41][50][51][52][53].
4. Emotional Arousal and Attitude toward the Advertisement
Green marketing, as opposed to corporate marketing, aims to reduce ecological damage and raise environmental awareness through consumer and industrial goods, with modern businesses emphasizing their ecofriendliness in marketing strategies
[7][9][10]. The green initiatives of the corporation will be a long-term commitment of the organization’s leadership. A business’s development strategy revolves around environmental issues and customer mindfulness
[3][18][33][54]. Green marketing must begin with green product design, which implies that the environmentally friendly product must support environmental sustainability. Ecological objectives should guide green product design
[55]. While the vast majority perceive green marketing simply as advertising green products, it in fact encompasses a wide range of initiatives such as design, product improvements, production process changes, packaging changes, pricing, distribution, and altering advertising
[1][3]. Companies should aim to create awareness and positive attitudes toward green advertisements and increase the demand for green products through environmentally friendly brands
[13][27][35][56]. Advertising that simply conveys the values of green and eco-friendly principles, implying a pro-environmental mentality, is an effective strategy for appealing to consumers. At the same time, it could highlight the product’s renewable raw materials, as well as the “green” manufacturing procedure
[5][25][57][58].
Green marketing relies heavily on a company’s promotional materials. As a bridge between industry and society, green practices inevitably participate in an important exercise in global relations as they promote the legitimacy of their practices and strengthen people’s sense of unity in their endeavors to protect the environment. Green advertising could be used to market products, justify their features, and justify their prices
[1][2][4]. For instance, these tasks could include redesigning a product to be more ecologically friendly, transitioning from plastic to sustainable packaging, and adjusting ads to favor environmentally friendly products. Environmental awareness and concern alone cannot ensure that consumer purchasing behavior is necessarily and consistently pro-environmental. This issue of dubious customer response is caused in part by ambiguities and miscommunications in green product advertising statements. There are corporations that have employed deceptive pro-environmental marketing slogans, claiming that their products are ecological without making any changes to their products or even their manufacturing methods
[1][2][4]. The above made it challenging to identify and purchase truly ecologically friendly products. Particularly in such a new thematic segment of the market, research and regulatory bodies are lacking in terms of studying and applying the appropriate criteria for companies to state in their advertisements the environmentally friendly effect of their products or services. Consequently, the so-called ecological merchandise will be distributed on the market without customers being aware of their true origins and attributes. This is a strategy that damages both consumers and numerous businesses, many of whom, although undertaking green activities, struggle to persuade the consumer audience of their good intentions and practices
[3][4][5].
Kilbourne
[59] investigated green advertising within this theoretical framework and determined that each form of green notion indicates a distinct political orientation and a different positioning of humankind toward nature. One key aspect marketers place particular focus on is adding strong emotional features to green brands with the intention of enhancing one’s understanding of the unique advantages derived from adopting a green philosophy
[60][61][62]. The emotional motives and incentives connected with environmentally conscious consumer behavior have been the subject of several studies for efficient implementation and representation of emotions or impulses related to human interaction with nature
[63][64][65][66]. Fear, guilt, humor, self-esteem, and compassion are examples of emotional responses that can be elicited and displayed in an advertisement to capture consumer interest
[62][65][67][68][69]. Individuals’ perceptions of the unique benefits associated with adopting a green ideology have been strengthened by the inclusion of prominent emotional qualities in green corporations. Furthermore, negative emotions function as potential motivators for behavioral change, compelling customers to consider the environmental impact of their green or cause-related purchase decisions
[62][66]. This is also supported by
[70], which concluded that ads that elicit negative emotions demonstrate a significant positive effect on consumers’ attitudes toward the green ad and on their intention to buy the promoted green product. Interestingly, this does not apply to ads that elicit positive emotions. The statistical analysis also revealed that the attitudes toward the green ad are not a significant predictor of consumers’ buying intention. Moreover, as expected, consumers with high environmental concerns demonstrate a stronger intention to buy the promoted green product.
Green advertising, in contrast to emotion, can appeal to logic by referencing, for example, environmental performance and include features that emphasize the economic implications of ecology
[70][71][72][73]. Furthermore, consumers exhibit specific feelings that emerge from green consumption: well-being as an outcome of altruistic behavior and personal expression, both of which positively influence consumer attitudes toward the environment. The aim of this research is to further comprehend the impact of emotional appeals in green advertising, including both positive and negative emotions, and how they influence consumer attitudes toward green advertisements and their impact on consumer intentions for environmentally conscious purchases.